1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a gas collecting method and a gas collecting apparatus for collecting the gases generated during operation of a disk apparatus, particularly, to a gas collecting method and a gas collecting apparatus for quantitatively evaluating a corrosive gas generated within a disk apparatus.
2. Description of the Related Art
In general, a disk apparatus, e.g., a hard disk drive (hereinafter referred to as xe2x80x9cHDDxe2x80x9d), comprises a magnetic disk, a spindle motor for rotating the magnetic disk, a magnetic head for reading/writing data relative to the magnetic disk, a head suspension assembly for supporting and moving the magnetic head, and a VCM (voice coil motor) for driving the head suspension assembly. These members of the disk apparatus are housed in a case of a substantially hermetic structure. If a hermetic case is used, it is possible to stabilize the floating operation of the magnetic head relative to the magnetic disk during the read/write operation. It is also possible to prevent dust, etc., from entering the case.
It is possible for the members of the HDD to include a member that generates a harmful gas, particularly, a corrosive gas, depending on changes in, for example, temperature or humidity. Where a corrosive gas is generated within the case in an HDD of the hermetic structure referred to above, the corrosive gas is ionized and adsorbed on the members of the HDD, giving rise to the problem that the HDD members are corroded. Under the circumstances, it is desirable to detect which member generates a corrosive gas and to change the material of the member generating the corrosive gas.
Such being the situation, it was customary in the past to improve the reliability of an HDD by collecting and analyzing the gas generated from the constituting member inside the HDD so as to evaluate in advance whether a member generating a harmful gas is present in the constituting members of the HDD.
A gas flow type gas collecting method and a gas collecting apparatus are disclosed in, for example, Japanese Patent Disclosure (Kokai) No. 7-211052 as a method and apparatus for collecting the gas generated from the HDD. The apparatus disclosed in this document is constructed such that a dry gas, which is used for collecting the generated gas, is supplied from a gas supply device into an HDD placed in a gas collecting device, then a gas component generated from the HDD is collected together with the dry gas in the gas collecting device, and then the collected gas is supplied into an analytical apparatus so as to analyze the collected gas.
However, the gas flow type collecting apparatus described above is defective in that the entire apparatus is bulky and that the working efficiency is low. It should also be noted that the collecting apparatus collects and analyzes the gas component generated under normal humidity or when humidified under a low humidity environment. However, the disorders caused by the gas generated within the HDD are not limited to those generated under normal humidity or under a low humidity environment. It is possible for the disorders in question to be generated under a high humidity environment. The gas generated from within the HDD under a high humidity environment reacts with water so as to be ionized. It is difficult to collect and analyze the ionized gas by the dry gas type collector, an activated carbon gas collector or a gas chromatography mass analyzer.
Such being the situation, it is conceivable to flow a wet gas in a gas flow type gas collecting apparatus so as to collect the gas generated from the HDD. In this case, however, a large scale facility is required for the preparation of the wet gas, and it is necessary to use a material having a high corrosion resistance for forming the gas collecting apparatus. In addition, condensation tends to be generated because of the difference between the gas temperature and the HDD temperature, which makes it difficult to recover the collected gas component.
The present invention has been contrived in consideration of above circumstances, and its object is to provide a gas collecting method and a gas collecting apparatus, which permit collecting easily and efficiently the gas generated from within a disk apparatus and which also permit quantitatively analyzing the collected gas.
According to an aspect of the present invention, which is intended to achieve the object described above, there is provided a gas collecting method for collecting the gas generated from within a disk apparatus, comprising housing a disk apparatus having an open inner structure and a collector liquid in a hermetically sealed collecting container; heating the disk apparatus and the collector liquid to a certain collecting temperature so as to permit a gas to be generated from the disk apparatus and to evaporate the collector liquid; bringing the vapor of the collector liquid into contact with the magnetic disk apparatus so as to collect the gas generated from the disk apparatus; lowering the temperature of the collecting container so as to liquefy the vapor collecting the generated gas.
According to another aspect of the present invention, there is provided a gas collecting apparatus, comprising a hermetically sealed collecting container housing a disk apparatus having an open inner structure and a collector liquid; and a heating mechanism configured to heat the disk apparatus and the collector liquid to a certain collecting temperature so as to permit a gas to be generated from the disk apparatus and to evaporate the collector liquid, the vapor of the collector liquid being brought into contact with the disk apparatus so as to collect the gas generated from the disk apparatus.
Additional objects and advantages of the present invention will be set forth in the description which follows, and in part will be obvious from the description, or may be learned by practice of the present invention. The objects and advantages of the present invention may be realized and obtained by means of the instrumentalities and combinations particularly pointed out hereinafter.